Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) is electrophysiological techniques for recording brain activity at its time-scale of function, i.e., at the millisecond level. An inverse problem can be applied to EEG and MEG in order to estimate the actual location of sources within the brain from the surface measurements. Contrary to EEG, MEG is little influenced by the low electrical conductivity of the skull, which severely blurs EEG electrical fields. In practice, this leads to better spatial capacities for MEG. MEG is used in presurgical evaluation of epilepsy and in fundamental neuroscience.
Classical MEG sensors (SQUIDs) relies on supraconductivity, which is a heavy constraint. Recently, new sensors have been developed for MEG, the Optically Pumped magnetometers. In this talk, we will review the potential capacities of these new sensors and show initial results of combined recordings of OPM and intracerebral EEG performed at the INS. We will also present the industrial chair project NewMeg funded by Amidex.
